Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a speech early Saturday that he asked for the members of his cabinet to resign, stressing that he would continue performing his duty to protect Egypt's stability against those who are trying to foment "chaos" in the country.
He promised new democratic initiatives without elaborating on specific reforms or addressing protesters' main demands.
He also promised fresh economic policies to alleviate poverty and unemployment, increase the standard of living, and combat corruption.
Neverthless, his pledges failed to meet the protesters' main demand. For the last four days, tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets demanding the ousting of Mubarak's regime. The 82-year-old president has remained in office since 1981. His fifth presidential term is set to expire this September. However, some government officials have recently implied that Mubarak will run for a sixth term.
In his speech, Mubarak condemned the behavior of the protesters. "What happened during these protests goes beyond looting, chaos, and fires to a larger plan," he said, "that aims at shaking stability and highjacking legitimacy."
"The sweeping majority of Egyptians are racked by fear over Egypt and its future. I will not allow this fear to posses our citizens," he said in a confident tone.
Earlier today, Mubarak asked the military to intervene in the riots to preserve public order.
Some reports suggested that protests were marked by looting and vandalism. However, organizers were generally keen on protecting public and private property, as clashes between protesters and security forces throughout Egypt continued into the fourth day.
